RNC: Ohio native aims to inspire

Prior to his scheduled address at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, Wauseon, Ohio, native Brock Mealer expressed his hopes of delivering a message of unity and perseverance to those in attendance.

“I’m extremely excited and still a little bit nervous and overwhelmed about everything,” he said Thursday afternoon. “It’s still pretty surreal.”

In 2007, a car accident left Mealer paralyzed from the waist down. The crash claimed the life of his father and his brother’s girlfriend. Doctors told him he had a 1 percent chance of walking again, according to his website. He now walks without assistance and helps motivate other people, something he hoped to accomplish during his convention speech.

“I want to get across that, with faith and effort, you can overcome anything,” he said. “I also hope a positive message can resonate that people can just start looking at each other as people again, not just left or right or anything else.”

Since regaining his ability to walk, Mealer has worked with the First Step Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping individuals unable to walk gain access to treatments that work to help get them literally back on their feet.

“We want to help others have the same opportunity I had, which is to work out with top-level trainers, work alongside pro athletes and overcome their disability, mainly neurological disorders, and really do what they want to with their life,” he said. “Part of it is regaining independence and physical ability, but another part is helping them to see a brighter future.”

For more information on Mealer and his story, visit jointhe1percent.com.